The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) says its insistence on the president of the ruling party and the country being the same individual has nothing with its support for ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma.
ANCYL secretary general Sihle Zikalala told reporters at a press conference in Johannesburg on Monday that it is an ANCYL policy position that whoever becomes president of the ANC must be the president of the country.
”Our rejection of the two centres of power — where the party president and the country president could be two different people — has nothing to do with Jacob Zuma,” he said.
He said the ”two-centres-of-power system” is untenable for democracy.
If retained at the ANC’s policy conference in June, the two-centres-of-power system could see whoever wins the ANC presidential election not automatically being president of South Africa.
It could see President Thabo Mbeki retain his ANC presidency should he stand.
The ANCYL has been campaigning for Zuma to succeed Mbeki.
Zikalala said the youth league plans to ”advance its policy position in the ANC policy conference and subsequent national conference”.
ANCYL president Fikile Mbalula said the youth league will gather for its policy conference in April to prepare its input for the ANC policy conference in June.
The press conference was held on Monday after the ANCYL’s weekend lekgotla (meeting). — Sapa